In an ad, John Astin said there's nothing funny about poisoning drinking water

Published at 11:37 AM EDT on Mar 23, 2017

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File - Actor John Astin, who portrayed Gomez Addams on "The Addams Family" television series, speaks during a reenactment of author Edgar Allan Poe's funeral in this Sunday, Oct. 11, 2009 file photo in Baltimore. Astin is the voice of a radio advertisement that opposes fracking.

The actor who played the patriarch of the Addams Family says the gas drilling process known as fracking is no joke.

John Astin, a Baltimore native and comedian who played Gomez Addams, is the voice of a radio ad that supporters of a ban are broadcasting Thursday morning.

Astin says in the ad there's nothing funny about poisoning drinking water and the air we breathe. Food & Water Watch paid for the ad.

A measure to ban fracking in Maryland is advancing in the Legislature. A bill to ban the practice already has passed the House of Delegates. A Senate panel passed the bill on Wednesday, and Gov. Larry Hogan says he supports it.